Bill Text: NY S00171 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes imposition of life imprisonment without parole sentence for persistent violent felony offenders upon conviction of a violent felony offense when such person has previously been subjected to two or more predicate violent felony convictions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO CODES [S00171 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S00171-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           171

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to sentencing  of  persistent
          violent felony offenders; and to repeal subdivision 3 of section 70.08
          of such law relating to minimum periods of imprisonment for persistent
          violent felony offenders

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 70.00 of the penal law, as amended
     2  by section 40-a of part WWW of chapter  59  of  the  laws  of  2017,  is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    5.   Life  imprisonment  without  parole.  Notwithstanding  any  other
     5  provision of law, a defendant sentenced  to  life  imprisonment  without
     6  parole  shall  not  be  or  become  eligible  for  parole or conditional
     7  release. For purposes of commitment and custody, other than  parole  and
     8  conditional  release,  such sentence shall be deemed to be an indetermi-
     9  nate sentence.  A defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment  with-
    10  out parole, in accordance with the procedures provided by law for impos-
    11  ing such a sentence, either: (a) upon conviction for the crime of murder
    12  in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter [and in
    13  accordance  with  the procedures provided by law for imposing a sentence
    14  for such crime]; or (b) upon conviction of a violent felony  offense  as
    15  defined  in  subdivision  one of section 70.02 of this article when such
    16  defendant has previously been subjected to two or more predicate violent
    17  felony convictions as defined in paragraph (b)  of  subdivision  one  of
    18  section  70.04  of this article.   A defendant who was eighteen years of
    19  age or older at the  time  of  the  commission  of  the  crime  must  be
    20  sentenced  to  life  imprisonment without parole upon conviction for the
    21  crime of terrorism as defined in section 490.25 of this  chapter,  where
    22  the specified offense the defendant committed is a class A-I felony; the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03441-01-1
        S. 171                              2

     1  crime  of  criminal possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon
     2  in the first degree as defined in section 490.45 of this chapter; or the
     3  crime of criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon  in  the
     4  first  degree  as  defined  in section 490.55 of this chapter; provided,
     5  however, that nothing in this subdivision shall preclude  or  prevent  a
     6  sentence  of  death when the defendant is also convicted of the crime of
     7  murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter,
     8  or is also convicted of a violent felony offense as defined in  subdivi-
     9  sion one of section 70.02 of this article when such defendant has previ-
    10  ously been subjected to two or more predicate violent felony convictions
    11  as  defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 70.04 of this
    12  article.  A defendant who was seventeen years of age or younger  at  the
    13  time of the commission of the crime may be sentenced, in accordance with
    14  law,  to  the  applicable  indeterminate sentence with a maximum term of
    15  life imprisonment. A defendant must be sentenced  to  life  imprisonment
    16  without  parole  upon  conviction  for the crime of murder in the second
    17  degree as defined in subdivision five of section 125.25 of this  chapter
    18  or  for  the crime of aggravated murder as defined in subdivision one of
    19  section 125.26 of this chapter. A defendant may  be  sentenced  to  life
    20  imprisonment  without parole upon conviction for the crime of aggravated
    21  murder as defined in subdivision two of section 125.26 of this chapter.
    22    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 70.08 of the  penal  law,  as  added  by
    23  chapter 481 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
    24    2.  Authorized  sentence.  When  the  court has found, pursuant to the
    25  provisions of the criminal procedure law, that a person is a  persistent
    26  violent felony offender the court must impose [an indeterminate sentence
    27  of  imprisonment,  the maximum term of which shall be life imprisonment.
    28  The minimum period of  imprisonment  under  such  sentence  must  be  in
    29  accordance  with  subdivision  three of this section] a sentence of life
    30  imprisonment without parole pursuant to section 70.00 of this article.
    31    § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 70.08 of the penal law is REPEALED.
    32    § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    33  have become a law.